See Me
by kdsch123
Summary: How a cheap pair of glasses keeps Lois Lane from seeing Clark Kent for what and who he is


See Me – Prompt #2 – O.T.P./Prompt #3 - Unrequited

By Denise (kdsch123)

Fandom: Smallville/Superman

Pairing: Clark/Lois

Acknowledgements: CW, WB, DC and Goughlar own all. That's why Smallville is all kinds of sucky lately.

Summary: How a pair of glasses keeps Lois from really seeing the truth about the man she loves. Futurefic. And yes, I am an overachieving pain in the ass. Going for two prompts.

Clark Kent looked up from his computer and over at Lois Lane's empty desk. She was at lunch with her cousin Chloe Sullivan-Queen, which really meant they were talking about him. He adjusted his glasses, moving them from the bridge of his nose. They didn't hurt so much as simply annoy him. Nothing said farce like someone who could see every color and shade of the Earth's spectrum and count every star, planet and asteroid in the night sky wearing $9.99 glasses from the Target store in Smallville. The worst part was that Lois was in love with him, well, in love with Superman. Clark had to wonder if he'd left the glasses back in Smallville the day Oliver had brought them over, maybe Lois would love him, well, love Clark. The only thing between the truth and possible happiness was a stupid, believable lie and the glasses. The Kryptonian disguise helped too, but Clark was pretty sure it was the glasses themselves that managed to throw Lois completely off.

"So, what's with the goggles? I don't remember you telling me." Lois asked when Clark had emerged from Perry White's office that first day. "When you left Smallville, you had perfect vision." She frowned at him. "The glasses are a good look for you, Clark. You look smart."

"Thanks, Lois." Clark replied, stammering a little over the lie, pushing the goldtone frames up the bridge of his nose. "I was in London and I started getting headaches. It turns out I had weak muscles in my eyes, and the glasses are supposed to help." Seeing her again had nearly blinded him, Lois had always been a beautiful girl, but had matured into a truly stunning woman.

"Huh." Lois absently nodded, not really listening as she read her messages. "Well, good for you, Clark. You're rocking them." That afternoon, Lois nearly fell from the top of the Daily Planet building and in love with Superman. Clark remembered his chest constricting as she landed in his arms, light as a feather, throwing her arms around his neck.

"I've got you, Miss." He'd said, letting his voice drop to it's natural register, each word steady and rock solid. "You're perfectly safe."

"Safe!?" Lois screeched, pressing her cheek against his. "You've got me? Who's got you?" She looked into his face then and for a moment, Clark thought she'd recognized him, but the impression was gone as suddenly as it had appeared. She had stammered herself when Clark set her down safely on the ground, and later, back in the newsroom, had berated Clark for missing the first sighting of "Superman", whose blue eyes were the most dreamy in the world. And that, had sealed the illusion.

Clark took off his glasses and looked at them. They had been Oliver's idea, seconded vigorously by Chloe and Martha Kent herself, when Oliver realized that Metropolis' new protector bore a more than passing resemblance to recently returned local boy, Clark Kent. Sunglasses and a hood had made the Green Arrow unidentifiable, and Oliver snickered that they had fooled Lois twice with that, so why wouldn't a pair of cheaters do the same thing now?

"Because," Clark had told his friend, who was frowning thoughtfully at the disguise Chloe and Martha were sewing together with needles made of Kryptonite. "I'm through with lying about who I am."

"You'll never be completely through with it, Clark." Oliver said, shaking his head. "You'll find a reason. Maybe you'll be protecting your mother from people who can't strike at you any other way."

"Or maybe you'll want your privacy." Martha had offered, looking up. "Think about it, Clark. If everyone knows what you can do, you'll never get any rest, never have anything close to a normal life."

"Just try them on." Chloe smiled winningly, and Clark rolled his eyes at her. Oliver winked at his wife, and Clark wondered when his two best friends had become such a unified force. Maybe it was when they met. It took the screech of Lois' tires in his driveway to force the glasses on, and as easily as that, Clark Kent and Superman were two separate people.

He loved Lois. All of her. Clark had loved her for years. The whole time he'd been gone, first at the Fortress of Solitude and then as he traveled the world, Lois was who he wanted to share his adventures with. Clark loved her obsession with 80's hair bands, her ridiculous inability to stay out of trouble and her reluctant softness that shone through her façade of toughness. He loved Lois for who she was. But she didn't see him. She loved him – the Superman part of him, the wise, noble, brave, strong and heroic part of him. All of him. But, she couldn't see it.

"Hey, Smallville." Lois' voice carried across the newsroom. She sauntered past his desk as he slid the glasses back on, dropping a white deli bag on his desk. "Brought you a sandwich. Still a roast beef fan?" Lois asked, not looking at him.

"Yeah, um, thanks." Clark answered haltingly, surprised at the impromptu thoughtfulness. "You remembered."

"We're friends. Just like you remember how I like my coffee." Lois smiled at him briefly. "Don't think I didn't notice, Clark."

Clark smiled, reaching up to adjust his glasses again. "Well, I think there are other things you'd notice if you…."

"Yes, oh!" Lois interrupted, throwing a pencil at him. "Speaking of noticing…did you see Jimmy's pictures of Superman? I swear, he reminds me of someone…" Clark caught the pencil a little too well, so he let if fall awkwardly to the desk, watching Lois roll her eyes at his clumsiness.

"Really, Lois?" Clark smiled, pushing his glasses more firmly on his nose. "Who?"

"The Green Arrow." Lois finished, her attention diverted. "Imagine?"

Clark sighed, remembering a kiss more than five years ago in a rainy alley. Glasses had kept her from seeing him then too. "Yeah, funny thing." Maybe the glasses hadn't been a bad idea after all.


End file.
